Eat, drink, shop, see — an array of options for down time during fashion week in the British capital.

BELLA’S ABODE: Bella Freud has opened her first retail store in London’s Marylebone area. Situated on Chiltern Street, the boutique is near André Balazs’ Chiltern Firehouse and concept store Trunk Lab. Architect and designer Maria Speake, who had designed Freud’s home, worked with her to create a similar intimate atmosphere. “I wanted to create an apartment-like feeling, a bit like stepping into a friend’s place for a cup of tea and leaving with your favorite jumper,” said Freud. A warm palette of green and red was used on stone floors and velvet Richelieu carpets to achieve a cozy yet homey feel. From spring men’s and women’s wear collections to fragrances and scented candles, a selection of books and records handpicked by the designer are on offer. Prices range from 85 pounds, or $122, for a printed shirted to 370 pounds, or $530, for a cashmere sweater. Customers can also watch Freud’s favorite films at the store’s lounge.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: The Gagosian Britannia Street has launched its first exhibition focused solely on the works of peers Andy Warhol and Richard Avedon.
The 119-piece retrospective delves into postwar photography and screen-printing that the duo are best known for. Presented across the institution’s four galleries, “Avedon Warhol” presents works from the Fifties to the Nineties. Curated by Kara Vander Weg and Mark Francis, the galleries explore concepts such as politics in Avedon’s “The Family,” drag queens in Warhol’s “Ladies and Gentlemen” and their similar take on celebrity culture through portraiture, highlighting Warhol’s famous “Four Marilyns” and Avedon’s thought-provoking “Audrey Hepburn.”
The exhibition showcases some of the key political, cultural and fashion icons of Avedon and Warhol’s time, including Brigitte Bardot, Bianca Jagger and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
The exhibition runs through April 23 at the Gagosian Gallery.

OLD MEETS NEW: British label Antoni & Alison — primarily known for its feminine silk, printed dresses — has given its East London store a revamp and renamed it The Antoni & Alison Department Store. Inspired by London’s traditional department stores of the Sixties and Seventies, this is a miniature version featuring rugged walls, dark wooden floors and furniture displaying the label’s accessories and home goods.
Spanning three floors, the store carries the label’s seasonal ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as vintage T-shirts. Located on the first floor is a bespoke dress service and a tea room.
Prices range from 30 pounds, or $42, for a printed T-shirt to 720 pounds, or $1,030, for a silk dress.
“The mix of modern and old practices was the inspiration behind creating the department store,” said cofounder and designer Antoni Burakowski. “The building is beautiful and we felt it needed to be shared, so we decided to open up all three floors.”

— Natalie Theodosi

43 Rosebury Avenue, EC1
Web: antoniandalison.co.uk

ON-THE-GO BEAUTY: Forget traipsing across London for separate hair and nail appointments. The new DryBy salon offers blowouts, manicures and pedicures all under one roof.
The homey atmosphere in central London offers five distinct blow-dry styles and a wide array of contemporary nail-art designs.
Based on icons from five of the world’s most influential cities, the hairstyles range from the Kate Moss-inspired laid-back London look to Rio’s voluptuous beach waves sported by the likes of Gisele Bündchen.
A basic blow-dry is priced at 32 pounds, or $45, with deluxe treatments ranging up to 145 pounds, or $210. Manicures start at 21 pounds, or $30, and pedicures at 30 pounds, or $44.

REIMAGINING RETAIL: While Hostem’s Redchurch Street concept store is closed for refurbishment this season, the retailer has set up shop temporarily at 28 Old Nichol Street. The Shoreditch store, which opened five years ago, has expanded from men’s wear to include women’s wear, furniture and Santa Maria Novella fragrance. The store also features a project and exhibition space for emerging artists. Following the evolution of the brand, owner James Brown has plans to reimagine the Redchurch Street store. Designed by its in-house team, the 2,475-square-foot Old Nichol Street store will feature unique site-specific woodwork by Hostem’s own carpenters to complement the brands carried, such as Loewe, Raf Simons and Comme des Garçons. Prices range from 65 pounds, or $93, for a candle to 4,755 pounds, or $6,812, for a Visvim leather jacket. The Redchurch store will reopen with fall collections.

MERRY MESS: The social scene in Shoreditch just got stronger. Joyeux Bordel — that’s French for “happy mess”— is not so messy after all. The elegantly designed bar on East London’s Curtain Road offers a range of rum-based and seasonal cocktails. Launched by Romée de Goriainoff, Olivier Bon and Pierre-Charles Cros, and Xavier Padovani, the team behind the Experimental Cocktail Club, the venue evokes the same quirky and fun atmosphere as its sister bar.
The whimsical menu features 12 cocktails from supersweet to extremely sour. Highlights include the “Taste of the Past” vintage spirits and a concise selection of nibbles, such as cheese tasters and bruschetta. The bar has also launched a Boilermaker menu, teaming up with local brewers to create their own version of the traditional whiskey chaser-style drink. The drinks range from 7.5 pounds, or $11, for a Black Whale to 140 pounds, or $200, for a magnum of vintage Billecart-Salmon.

GIRL POWER: London’s Saatchi Gallery is mounting its first all-female exhibition. From Mequitta Ahuja to Suzanne McClelland, the showcase will feature 14 emerging international artists. “Champagne Life” will include pieces that explore a variety of contemporary art, from sculpture to portraiture.
Named after one of Julia Wachtel’s works, the phrase “Champagne Life” was borrowed from R&B artist Ne-Yo’s songs to cynically represent the superficial representation of wealth through Champagne in hip-hop music and culture. The varied works exhibited include Wachtel’s life-size Minnie Mouse toy and a wall of scolded pans titled “Food for Thought’” by Al Mu’allaqat.
The exhibition coincides with Saatchi’s 30th anniversary. The gallery, in Sloane Square, is owned by Charles Saatchi and has supported the careers of female artists such as Tracey Emin, Cindy Sherman and Cecily Brown.
The exhibit runs through March 6.

MOSS UNVEILED: London’s Zebra One Gallery will mount Owen Scarbiena’s photography exhibition titled “Kate Moss: Unseen.” From early images of Moss at age 14 and a fresh-faced Moss dancing at her black-and-white test shoot, the show includes 12 unpublished images shot by the photographer. Key images include one of Moss laughing, covering her face and the strips of negatives, showing Moss’ exaggerated dancing at the test shoot.
“My jaw hit the ground when I discovered that they were taken from her first professional shoot at the age of just 14,” said curator Gabrielle du Plooy. “They are a huge part of history.”
Storm Models director Sarah Doukas introduced Moss to Scarbiena when Doukas signed Moss to the agency in 1988. Doukas famously spotted the Croydon-based teen at John F. Kennedy International Airport traveling with her father.
The exhibition will run until Feb. 23 at the Zebra One Gallery.

KENSINGTON’S CANTEEN: Nestled on Kensington High Street, the Ivy Kensington Brasserie is an all-day dining restaurant offering modern British fare from a Champagne breakfast to a roast dinner. Just a few steps from Kensington Palace, the Royal Albert Hall and the new Design Museum, which is slated to open this year, Kensington Brasserie offers a menu as cultured as its surroundings. Whether you fancy truffle eggs with a toasted brioche, a chargrilled rump steak sandwich doused in roasted onions and horseradish mustard sauce or a flourless chocolate cake with Chantilly cream and Kirsch cherries, the menu offers a range of English dishes. The Brasserie has an extravagant, French-style interior, with marble-tiled floor and a bar that commands attention. Walk-in diners are welcome, for indoor or outdoor seating.

FRENCH FLAVORS: Parisian bistro Frenchie has crossed over the channel, hitting the London scene. With a three-month waiting list, the establishment nestled on Henrietta Street will be echoing its Parisian menu in Covent Garden. Head chef Gregory Marchand incorporates British-sourced and seasonal ingredients into the menu. Besides a selection of French cheeses, the new London restaurant will offer house-smoked meat and fish in bistro dishes influenced by Marchand’s global travels. Highlights include bacon scones with Cornish clotted cream, 100-day-old chicken with Keens cheddar and Sauvignon sauce, and bittersweet chocolate tart with Malden sea salt and bacon ice cream. The restaurant was named after Marchand’s nickname Frenchie, which was given to him while working at Jamie Oliver’s London restaurant Fifteen. The bistro is among the list of establishments that restaurateurs Gregory and Marie Marchand have launched including Frenchie Wine Bar, Frenchie to Go and the Wine Shop — all located in Paris’ garment district.

NETWORKING TEA: Fashion blogger Temi Otedola is launching a program aimed at young people aspiring to work in the fashion industry. Known for her blog JTO Fashion, the Nigerian-born 20-year-old aims to promote diversity within the fashion industry and provide networking opportunities for emerging talent.
Afternoon tea in Ankara will consist of a series of talks and workshops that will run biannually, with the first taking place on Feb. 27 during London Fashion Weekend. Vanessa Kingori, British GQ’s publisher and Onyemi Akinrele, head of Lagos Fashion and Design, will host talks during the event, held at the Café Royal Hotel. Participants will be selected by an online video application.

SHOE SHOPPING: London’s footwear designers have been busy setting up shop. Bionda Castana founders Natalia Barbieri and Jennifer Portman unveiled a 264-square-foot London boutique, the label’s first stand-alone store. The space stands in the city’s tony Pimlico neighborhood, and is near Philip Treacy and Jenny Packham. The designers have decked out the store with dusky pink walls and carpets and sleek gold fittings, and the shop offers Bionda Castana’s ready-to-wear designs and custom service, whereby customers can order designs in different fabrics and colors. “This feels like a really good beginning,” said Barbieri of this first store, adding that she and Portman believe that the shop will encourage their customers to take a more experimental approach to shoe shopping. “Once you see [a Bionda Castana shoe] on you…if you would not normally think you’re a flat-shoe girl, you put it on and actually, you think ‘this suits me really nicely,’” said Barbieri. Bionda Castana counts Alexa Chung, Keira Knightley and Taylor Swift among its customers, which offer the same styles in a number of heel heights, from flats to stilettos. The store comes ahead of the duo’s collaboration with L.K. Bennett, which bows this month.
Meanwhile, in the fall Lucy Choi — the niece of Jimmy Choo — opened her footwear label’s first boutique in west London’s Connaught Village. And coincidentally, it’s in the space where her famous uncle’s first store stood. The 1,000-square-foot space is decorated with dark wood floors, plasterwork fixtures and glamorous chandeliers. Choi describes her label as offering “affordable luxury,” with her styles starting at 185 pounds, or $254, and rising to 315 pounds, or $432. Since launching her label in 2012, Choi has built a reputation for her sleek designs in simple shapes, such as pointed-toe flats and glittery, high-heeled court shoes.

INTEREST PIQUED: Helmed by former Plateau and Galvin Bistrot de Luxe chef Allan Pickett, Piquet is a two-story restaurant housed in a former underground parking lot just off Oxford Street. Serving a fusion of French and English fare, the restaurant locally sources its produce. Menu highlights include the Make-Your-Own Market Menu where diners get to hand-pick their own selections from the best daily offerings available. These include duck rillette, homemade pickles and sourdough.
Designed by Quentin Reynolds and the team at Reyco, Piquet features painted decorative gesso panels, vintage British chairs as well as classic French pewter comptoir tabletops that are complemented with heritage pieces of French and English tableware. The walls are adorned with specially commissioned artwork by East London artist Daemon Priestly.

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